Marking gauge



Nov. 16, 1954 I E. G. v. JOHANSSON MARKING GAUGE Filed Aug. 12, 1952 ii lt lwfr A'I'TORIYEY United States Patent MARKING GAUGE Erik G. V. Johansson, Enskede, Sweden Application August 12, 1952, Serial No. 303,905

Claims. (CI. 33-42) The present invention refers to marking gauges to be used in carpentry or by children in the school sloyd instruction for the purpose of tracing or marking a location for a subsequent operation.

It is an object of the invention to provide a marking gauge that does not have the common drawbacks of conventional marking gauges but has the advantages of being of simple and practical construction, of comprising no loose elements that are apt to drop out, and being provided with marking pins that are mutually adjustable in such a way as to permit the usually required marking operations to be performed with speed and accuracy even by workers that are not skilled in the handling of this kind of tools, for instance pupils undergoing sloyd instruction.

To this end the marking gauge according to the invention comprises a pair of bars slidable in a marking block and fixable in an adjusted position, said bars being arranged telescopically and provided with at least one outward-facing longitudinal surface. The bars may suitably comprise a pair of metal channels of substantially U- shaped cross section, one within the other, and lockable in the marking block by means of a locking screw therein pressing the bars against each other.

The invention is illustrated by an embodiment thereof shown by way of example in the accompanying drawin Fig. 1 is a longitudinal mid-section of a marking gauge according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view thereof on a larger scale and with the bars in an operating position.

The bars 1 and 2 of the marking gauge comprise a pair of channel members of approximately U-shaped cross section and of metal, such as brass. One channel member 1 is accommodated within the other 2 with its bottom portion forming an outward-facing longitudinal surface. The other channel member has both of its sides and the bottom thereof forming outward-facing longitudinal surfaces. The bars are slidable in a square hole of a preferably wooden marking block 3. The block 3 has inserted therein a sleeve 4 into which there is threaded a locking screw 5 with a base disk 6, which may be pressed against the outward-facing longitudinal surface of the bar 1. This base disk 6 in combination with the sleeve 4 also serves as a stop preventing the locking screw from being completely unscrewed.

The bars 1 and 2 are each provided at the one end thereof with oppositely turned marking pins 7 and 8 threaded into the bars and having conical heads. The inner bar 1 is further provided with a knife point 10 at its other end and attached by means of a screw 9. Immediately beyond this end of the bar 1 the other bar 2 is traversed by a hole 11 for accommodating a pencil or the like, indicated by dot-dash lines, and which may be secured by means of a clamping screw 12 and a base disk 13, the latter being adapted to press against the pencil and to prevent the unscrewing of the clamping screw.

The marking block 3 further comprises a metal sleeve 14, into which is threaded a pointed screw 15, the point of which is traversed by a hole 16. The longitudinal axis of the screw 15 is parallel with that of the hole 11. This enables the screw 15 to serve as a centre point for drawing circles by means of a pencil, point, or the like fastened in the hole 11. The arrangement then serves as a beam compass. However, when this type of operation 2,694,260 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 is not desired, the pointed screw 15 would be an obstruction and might cause harm and it may then be unscrewed with the aid of a pin inserted in the hole 16, its point tiurned inwards, and then again screwed into the sleeve It will be apparent from above that the instrument according to the invention allows all the conventional markings to be performed therewitlnthe adjustment taking place by means of the locking screw 5 only. In the marking process, the bar carrying the operative marking point is always pressed against the other bar, whereby the bars support each other mutually. The point 8 and the knife point 10 limit the extent to which the bars may be pulled apart, and, since the screws 5 and 12 also cannot be unscrewed, there are no loose parts that may drop out or become lost.

The invention is not to be considered as being restricted to the mere embodiment described andillustrated, variations of which are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention. The bars may be of another cross section as long as they have an exterior longitudinal surface so as to allow them to be pressed together by means of a locking screw, thereby enabling them to be secured in any desired position. One locking screw may be used forth each bar. The pointed screw 15 may be dispensed W1 What is claimed is:

1. A marking gauge comprising a marking block, a pair of bars slidable in said block, a screw for simultaneously securing said bars to said block, the first of said bars having a substantially U-shaped cross section, the second of said bars being also of U-shaped cross section and accommodated within said first bar, the base of said second bar being substantially flush with the outer flange edges of said first bar, and a marking point on the base of each of said bars.

2. A marking gauge as claimed in claim 1, in which sa d marking block carries a preferably disconnectable point having an axis parallel with the axes of said marking points.

3. A marking gauge comprising a marking block, a pair of bars slidable in said block, a screw for simultaneously securing both of said bars to said block, one of said bars having a substantially U-shaped cross section, the other one of said bars being accommodated within said one bar and having at one end thereof a marking point and at the other end a knife point.

4. A marking gauge comprising a marking block, a pair of bars slidable in said block, a screw for simultaneously securing both of said bars to said block, one of said bars having a substantially U-shaped cross sect1on and the other one of said bars being accommodated within said one bar, said one bar having at one end thereof a hole adapted to accommodate pencil means, and means for securing said pencil in the hole.

5. A marking gauge comprising a marking block, a pair of bars slidable in said block, a screw for simultaneously securing both of said bars to said block, said block carrying a disconnectable point in its lowermost portion, one of said bars having a substantially U-shaped cross section, the other one of said bars being accommodated within said one bar and having at least one outwardly facing longitudinal surface essentially flush with the outer flanges of said one bar, the saidtone bar having at one end thereof a marking point and at the other end thereof a hole adapted to accommodate a pencil, said other bar having at one end thereof a marking point and the other end thereof a knife point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,041,687 Smith Oct. 15, 1912 1,518,647 Frank Dec. 9, 1924 1,787,313 Houts Dec. 30, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 556,898 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1943 

